Public event

*Stream* David Brooks from The New York Times will be in conversation with presidential historian Ronald C. White to discuss character as a part of the Grand Valley State University's series on "Character and Presidency."

Danielle Sered will speak about her experience directing Common Justice, a program of the Vera Institute of Justice that develops and advances solutions to violence that transform the lives of those harmed and foster racial equity without relying on incarceration.

Join EPI's scholars at 27 roundtables, panels and poster sessions, and help us to celebrate Susan Dynarski's selection as the recipient of APPAM's Spencer Award for transformative work in education policy research.

Through money bail systems, fees and fines, strictly enforced laws and regulations against behavior including trespassing and public urination that largely affect the homeless, and the substitution of prisons and jails for the mental hospitals that have traditionally served the impoverished, in one of the richest countries on Earth we have effectively made it a crime to be poor.

Vann R. Newkirk, II, Staff Writer at The Atlantic will highlight the ways in which democracy and the ballot have been curtailed historically and in the present for people on the margins of society, including post-Jim Crow and post-Shelby County v. Holder legal developments on gerrymandering and voter ID.

The U.S. is in the midst of an energy transition. This path toward decarbonization of the energy sector promises many societal benefits such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions, technological innovation, and reduced air pollution. The costs of this transition such as price spikes or job displacement, however, are not evenly spread across the population, since some individuals and communities are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts than others. In this presentation, I will introduce a framework for conceptualizing vulnerability and then provide an illustration of its potential application using the case of the renewable portfolio standard. I will also present findings from interviews and focus groups with individuals that reside or work within more vulnerable populations. These findings provide insights about the manner in which communities perceive of the energy transition, and how they cope with changes introduced by the transition.

The United States has seen dramatic growth in energy development with much of it occurring on privately owned lands, creating a unique raft of opportunity and risk for landowners. The presentation reviews research on the nexus of property ownership rights and regulatory policy, with a focus on Shale and Wind Energy. It introduces the concept of 'Private Participation' in the planning and siting of energy projects and discusses how private property ownership will continue to influence the energy revolution. 

Professor Shujiro URATA examines Japan’s current economic situation and identifies the problems, then he discusses the importance of adopting an activist international economic policy with a focus on its relationship with the United States, in order to overcome the problems and achieve sustained economic growth.  

This talk will show how children’s chances of climbing the income ladder vary across neighborhoods, analyze the sources of racial disparities in intergenerational mobility, and discuss the role of higher education in creating greater income mobility. 

The most recent comprehensive state environmental index is over 25 years old. Hall & Kerr's 1991-1992 Green Index uses 256 indicators to gauge the environmental performance and policies of every state and it is still being used today in lieu of any suitable replacement. American University's Center for Environmental Policy is creating a new state environmental index to assess the ecological efficiency of each state. Come hear American University's Riordan Frost discuss the preliminary results of this index, and learn more about the challenges and hard decisions inherent in constructing an index.

Free and open to the public.Pizza lunch provided at 11:25am to the first 100 guests.Sponsored by: The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP)Co-sponsored by: The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) and the University of Michigan School of EducationFor more information visit www.closup.umich.edu or call 734-647-4091.  Follow on Twitter @closup

Join Daniel Gilmartin, Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League for an engaging presentation and discussion around why placemaking is so important as an economic development strategy for communities.

Women constitute a powerful force in the electorate and inform policymaking at all levels of government. Although women continue to be underrepresented as political officeholders, there is a growing contingent of dedicated women serving their communities and challenging the status quo in local and state government. In this historic election season, with the first woman nominated by a major party as a presidential candidate, our panel will explore what it is to be among the 20% -- from the campaign trail to the daily work of governing.

Join us for an evening screening of the documentary, Bring It to the Table, a project aimed at breaking down partisanship and opening up lines of communication across political divides. 

Consideration of the the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has been postponed until after the election, when it may come up for a vote in Congress. Ford School Professor Alan Deardorff will moderate this two-person panel on the pros and cons of the TPP.

Join the Ann Arbor Public Libraries for an unforgettable evening as both authors discuss the themes of this unforgettable book. The event includes a book signing and books will be for sale courtesy of Barnes & Noble.

The STPP-affiliated student group, InSPIRE, is hosting a movie night of Ex Machina next Thursday, February 16th at 6pm in 1230 Weill Hall. Dinner will be provided. Please plan to attend the screening and discussion of this independent science fiction psychological thriller film!